Up hill toy racing game

ABSTRACT

A competitive racing game apparatus comprising a board having at least two upwardly inclined tracks, racing pieces such as motorcycle figures each movable along one of the tracks, and individual impact-propelling mechanisms associated with each of the tracks and operable selectively and independently from the other impact-propelling mechanisms for effecting incremental movement of the associated racing piece upwardly along its track. Each of the illustrated impact-propelling mechanisms comprises an impact ball and a manually actuating propelling mechanism which propels the ball up along the associated track to impact its racing piece and thereby advance it along the track. After each impact, the ball rolls back down its track to the propelling mechanism for a subsequent shot. Mechanisms to indicate the start of the race and the finish of the race by the winner may also be provided.

United States Patent 1191 Goldfarb et al.

[ June 28, 1974 UP-HILL TOY RACING GAME Primary E.\'aminerAnton O. Oechsle Attorney. Agent, or FirmRobert M. Ashen [76] Inventors: Adolph E. Goldfarb, 4614 Monaraca Dr., Tarzana, Calif. 91356; Erwin Benkoe, 17965 57 CT Medley Dr.. Encino, Calif. 91316 I A competitive racmg game apparatus comprising a [22] Filed: Feb. 21, 1973 board having at least two upwardly inclined tracks, [21 1 AppL NO; 334,220 racing pieces such as motorcycle figures each movable along one of the tracks, and indlvldual impact- I propelling mechanisms associated with each of the U.S- C]. D, tracks and perable electively and independently 273/DIG- 25 from the other impact-propelling mechanisms for ef- Clt fecting incremantal movement of the associated ra ing Field of Search 273/86 86 D1 86 R 129, piece upwardly along its track. Each of the illustrated 273/DIG- 25; 124/34, 37 impact-propelling mechanisms comprises an impact ball and a manually actuating propelling mechanism 1 References Cited which propels the ball up along the associated track to UNITED STATES PATENTS impact its racing piece and thereby advance it along 1289,622 12/1918 Blackshear 124 34 X the track Aftfir each impact, the ball r0115 back down l 822,873 9/1931 Brewer 273/86 F its track to the propelling mechanism for a Subsfiquent 1,958.563 5/1934 Brooker et al.... 273/86 D shot. Mechanisms to indicate the start of the race and 2518,897 8/1950 Jones 273/86 D the finish of the race by the winner may also be pro- 2.530.555 11 1950 Tobin et al. 273/86 D Vidal 3,411,782 11/1968 Wood 273/86 B 2 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures 1 85 I 24 I j I 88 e7 92 102 l as 97 90 PATENTEDJUHZB m4 31820388 SHEET 3 UP 3 I44 44 l u. so 44:1 i

FIG. 9A,

FIG.9Y e3 65 FIG. ll

FIG. I2

UP-HILL TOY RACING GAME Competitive racing means in toys have always been exciting and interesting to children as well as adults. Often, however, in such devices or games there is very little that the participant contributes to the outcome of the race. In other words, each player may start his racing piece in the race, and he may affect its progress to some extent, but the progress of the race may be much more dependent upon the characteristics of the particular racing piece then upon any particular skill which he is able to contribute.

The toy racing apparatus of the present invention combines the excitement and fun of a simple racing toy with the demand for skill and timing in the operation of the device by each of the competing players to produce the maximum result and thus win the race. In particular, in the present device, where a ball rolls back down an incline to be repeatedly shot forward to impact the racing piece and thereby move it along its track, the player must try to re-shoot the sphere as soon as it reaches the shooter. However, if the player operates the shooter too soon (that is, before the sphere has returned to its ready position), the shot will be partially or even totally wasted and valuable time will be lost. Thus, the game may be played and enjoyed by more skillful and sophisticated players, whose timing of the shots may be excellent. On another level, the same game may be enjoyed as much or more so by young children whose skill and timing are much inferior to those of the sophisticated players, so long as such lower levels of skills are generally balanced with regard to the competing children.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a competitive motorcycle racing game apparatus which embodies a presently preferred form of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sideelevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing the starting gate arrangement of the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along line 4-4 of FIG. 1, showing the finish line arrangement of the apparatus;

FIGS. 5 through 7 are progressive and enlarged views of one of the shooting means of the apparatus;

FIG. 8 is a perspective exploded view of the housing and impact-hammer of one of the shooting means;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an illustrative racing piece;

FIGS. 9A and 10 are schematic cross-sectional illustrations of alternative forms of track configurations of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view of a modified form of track and propelling means;

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of an alternative form of base portion for the racing piece;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an alternate form of racing piece.

In brief, the illustrated toy racing apparatus 10 comprises a board 12, having a plurality of paths or tracks 14 running therealong, and having an automatic starting-gate means or arrangement 16 and flip-up finish indicating means 18. The apparatus 10 also includes a plurality of racing pieces 20 which each move along one of the tracks 14, and an individually operable impact-propelling means 22 associated with each of the tracks for selective and independent operation to incrementally moving the associated racing piece along the track towards the finish. Each illustrated impactpropelling means 22 comprises an impact ball 24 and a shooting or propelling mechanism or means 26. The tracks 14 are arranged in an upward incline toward the finish. There is sufficient frictional contact between each of the racing pieces 20 and its track 14 so that the piece will retain an uphill position once it has been attained. Each propelling means 26 is located at the lower starting end of its track 14 and it propels its impact ball 24 up along the track to impact its racing piece 20, and thereby move the piece a distance against the force of gravity and friction up the incline and along the track. The ball 24 then rolls back down the track to the propelling means 26 which is again operated to propel the ball, and the process continues until one of the racing pieces 20 reaches the finish line.

Now to consider the illustrated structure in further detail. The board 12 is generally rectangular in configuration, having a pair of upright side walls 30, a starting end wall 32, a finish end wall 34, and a top wall 36. Along the lower edge of each side wall 30 and extending outwardly therefrom is a generally flat enlongated side base 38. Feet 40 may be secured to the underside of each side base 38 adjacent either end. The illustrated top wall 36 is formed to provide a plurality of the longitudinal tracks 14 extending lengthwise of the board. This is-shown best in FIGS. 1 and 3. Each track 14 is defined by a recess or groove having a bottom wall 42 and a pair of upstanding side walls 44. Intermediate strips or portions 46 of the top wall 36 span the distance between upright side walls 44 of adjacent tracks. The top wall 36 is inclined upwardly from a lower first or starting end to an elevated second or finishing end. As may be seen in FIG. 1, the tracks 14 extend longitudinally of the board and parallel to one another. The tracks 14 stop short of the ends of the board. At the starting end of each track there is an opening 48 that is normally blocked by the face 49 of an impacthammer 50 of the propelling means 26 (See FIGS. 5-7). As shown at FIG. 4, at the forward or finish end of each track, there is mounted a finish indicating means 18 in the fonn of a tiltable finish member.

Each finish member 18 includes a camming base portion 52, a upstanding rod portion 54, and an indicator portion 56 representing a flag fixed to the upper end of the rod portion 54. The finish member 18 is pivotally mounted at its base portion 52 for rotation about a transversely extending horizontal axis designated 58. This may be accomplished in a conventional manner as by means of a transversely extending shaft or pin (not shown). The finish member 18 normally assumes the broken line position shown in FIG. 4 where the flag 56 is lowered. The member 18 is moved to the position shown in full line in FIG. 4, when engaged by the associated racing piece 20; by rotation of the finish member 18 about its axis 58 due to being struck below the axis by the racing piece 20. Thus, when one of the racing pieces 20 reaches the finish line, it will operate the associated finish member 18 to clearly indicate to the players the winner of that race.

As shown best in FIG. 9, each of the illustrated racing pieces 20 comprises a base section 58, and an upstanding plate section 60. The illustrated base section 1 58 is a generally rectangular block slightly narrower in dimension then the width of a track 14. The base section 58 has a rearvvardly facing, transverse impact surface 59 which receives the impact from the propelled ball 24. The base section 58 also has a flat smooth bottom wall 63 for sliding along the bottom wall 42 of the track and a pair of side wall surfaces 65 which engage the side walls 44 of the track to guide the piece therealong. The base block 58 and the track should be made of compatible material that will permit the base block to slide along the track, while providing sufficient friction therebetween so that the racing piece will be maintained in the uphill position along the track to which it is moved and it will not have a tendency to slide back down the incline. The plate section 60 of the illustrated racing piece extends vertically upward from the base portion 58, and has the representation thereon on its opposite sides of a motorcycle and motorcycle rider.

The starting gate arrangement or means 16 is comprised of an elongated horizontally-extending gate or bar 62 secured at one end to a vertically-extending post 64. The post 64 and bar 62 are mounted at the starting end of the board for vertical movement. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the starting gate 62 extends across all of the tracks 14 a short distance along the tracks from their starting ends. This provides sufficient space at the starting end of each of the tracks for its racing figure as well as for its impacting ball 24 and to permit a certain amount of initial travel of the ball before it impacts its racing figure. The rod 64 is contained within a generally tubular housing extension 66 mounted at one side of the board. As shown in FIG. 3, a coil spring 68 is disposed around the rod 64 so that one end of the spring engages an annular flange 70 on the rod while the other end of the spring engages a transverse, horizontal, intermediate wall 72 within the housing extension 66. The spring 68 thereby urges the rod 64 upwardly to the position shown in FIG. 3. This positions the starting gate 62 in the elevated position shown in FIG. 3, which provides ample room beneath the starting gate for the passage of the racing pieces along the tracks. The gate 62 extends through a vertical slot 63 in the side wall of the housing extension 66. The rod 66 extends down through an opening in the intermediate wall 72. A suction cup 74 is mounted on the lower end of the rod 72 for engagement with an upwardly facing contact surface 76 formed by the portion of the side base 38 below the tubular housing extension 66. A setting handle 78 is provided at the upper end of the rod 64 externally of the extension housing 66. By pushing downwardly on the handle 78 so as to engage the suction cup 74 with the contact surface 76, the starting gate 62 is brought down to a position which bars passage of the racing figures along the tracks. The suction cup 74 temporarily maintains the starting gate 62 in this lowered position. When the suction cup 74 releases, the rod 64 is impelled upwardly by the spring 68 which the impact hammer is slidably received for front to back movement. The illustrated hammer 50 has longitudinal slots 85 along either side which receive therein longitudinal ribs 87 on the inside of the block side walls. Forward movement of the hammer 50 is limited by a stop section 83 within the housing recess 84. A depending projection 89 on the underside of hammer engages the stop section 83 to stop further forward movement of the hammer. A coil compression spring 86 is disposed in the recess 84 behind the impact hammer 50 to store and then impart impacting-energy to the hammer. In particular, the rear end of the spring 86 is seated in a receptacle 88 at the rear of the recess 84. The hammer 50 has a downwardly projection 90 having a forwardly-directed vertical surface 92. A trigger member 94 is pivotally mounted within the block 82 on a transversely extending horizontal pin 96 that is secured to the opposite side walls of the block. The pin 96 passes through a generally vertical slot 97 through the member 94. The trigger member 94 is a generally elongated part having a loop 98 at its lower end to which one end of the pull cord is secured. The pull cord 80 extends lengthwise within the board 12 and then passes through a hole in the board side wall 30. A ring or other graspable handle 81 may be attached to the outer end of the cord for readily pulling the cord. The upper end of the trigger member has a finger 100 adapted to engage the surface 92 on the hammer pro jection 90, to thereby draw back the hammer 50 against the spring 86 and then release the hammer so that the spring will drive it forwardly. This sequence is illustrated in FIGS. 5 through 7. Pull on the cord 80 tends to rotate the trigger member 94 in the counterclockwise direction. A small biasing spring 102 is connected between the upper end of the trigger member 94 and the block 82 to urge the trigger member in the other or clockwise direction. As shown in FIG. 5, initial pull on the cord 80 rotates the trigger member 94 from the position shown in full line to the position shown in broken line. This in turn moves the hammer 50 rearwardly against the spring 86 to the position shown in FIG. 5. Continued pull on the cord 80 and rotation the trigger member 94 causes the hammer 50 to reach the end of its travel as shown in FIG. 6. This distance of travel may be controlled by the length of the side slots 84. In other words, maximum rearward travel of the hammer is defined by the forward ends of the slots engaging the forward ends of the ribs 87. The spring 86 is in a compressed condition. Further pull on the cord 80 effects downward movement of the trigger member 94 on the supporting pin 96 (by virtue of the vertical slot 97) to a position as shown solid in FIG. 6, from where the finger 100 at the upper end of the trigger member 94 is able to clear the extension of the hammer (as shown in broken line in FIG. 6). This permits the drive spring 86 to impell the hammer 50 forwardly. Any further pull on the cord does not affect the hammer. When the cord 80 is released, the biasing spring 102 pulls the upper end of the trigger member 94 to the right. As shown in FIG. 7, the finger of the trigger member engages the extension 90 and the trigger member is shifted downward (by virtue of the pin 96 in the slot 97). Continued pull by the spring 102 shifts the trigger member enough to permit the finger 100 to clear the projection or extension 90. The trigger member 94 is thus returned to the ready position shown in solid line in FIG. 5. Thus, when each player pulls his cord 80, this effects the withdrawal and forward propulsion of the hammer 50. As noted above, the forward end 49 of the hammer extends through the aperture 48 at the start of the associated track 14 so that it will engage and propel forward the ball 24 when that ball is seated at the lower starting end of the track. The ball 24 is thus rolled up the inclined track 14 to impact and thereby advance forwardly along the track the racing piece 20. Then the ball rolls back down the track to the starting position so that it can be propelled again.

Various modifications may be made in the illustrated structure of FIGS. 1 through 8 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, in FIG. 9A an alternate form of track is shown. The upper wall of the housing is a generally flat planar wall 36a having longitudinally-extending, parallel, upstanding walls or rails 44a. A track 14a is thus formed between each pair of rails 44a. FIG. 10 shows another alternative form of track 14b which might be utilized wherein a longitudinally extending groove 110 is provided that receives a downwardly projecting tab 112 on the underside of the racing piece b. Such a groove 110 would normally not provide sufficient guidance to the 24 ball to return it to the same propelling means 26. Therefor when utilizing such a configuration of track 14b, the game apparatus might be provided with a plurality of balls 24 which could return to any propelling means at random. Each propelling means 26b may be provided with some short guides or rails I14 immediately in front of it as shown in FIG. 11, so that when a ball returns to the bottom of board, it will be seated centrally in front of one of the propelling means 26b. Thus, in this variation of the apparatus, a player would not continually shoot one ball along his track, but each player could have one or more propelling means, and he would merely propel a ball whenever one seated itself in front of one of his propelling means.

The form of the racing figure could also be varied to match the particular configuration and arrangement of the track, so long as a rearwardly directed impact surface was provided to be engaged and impacted by the hall. For example, FIG. 12 illustrates one alternative form of base portion 58a which is generally bulletshaped, having a flat transverse rear impact surface 59a. Further, the plate section of the racing piece may be varied, or the racing piece may be in three dimensional form rather than the illustrated essentially two dimensional form.

The rollable impact member might take a form other than a sphere or ball. For example, the impact member might be cylindrical shaped or be mounted on wheels or ball bearings. FIG. 13 shows a wheeled vehicle 116 which could ride within and follow the track 14. It would be propelled up the track to impact the racing piece and it would then roll back down the track. The sphere is preferred however, since it is simple and economical and it would not have orientation problems and it would not tend to become caught going up or down a track.

Alternative propelling means may also beprovided, as for example, the simple pull-and-release plungertype shooter found in pin-ball machines as shown in FIG. 11. The illustrated and preferred arrangement of propelling means and pull cords has the advantage of permitting a number of players to be comfortably spaced around the board, rather than requiring that all the players be positioned at the lower end of the board to operate a plunger-type shooter.

Another alternative propelling means could comprise an elongated lever arm pivotally mounted longitudinally of the board so that striking one end portion of the arm will pivot it to cause a portion at its other end to impact a ball or other object at the start of an associated track.

We claim:

1. Competitive racing game apparatus comprising:

a board having means defining a plurality of upwardly inclined tracks therealong. said tracks having lower starting ends and higher finishing ends;

a plurality of racing pieces each disposed for movement along one of said tracks;

a plurality of rollable impacting objects for engaging the racing pieces; and plurality of individual propelling means on said board adjacent the lower starting ends of said tracks for selective and independent operation to propel the impacting objects up along the inclined tracks to impact the racing pieces and thereby ad vance them along the tracks, said propelling means comprising a housing, the housing including an impact-hammer movably mounted in said housing for forward and rearward motion, a drive spring mounted in said housing urging said hammer in a forward direction, a pin mounted between the walls of the housing transversely to said direction of motion of said hammer, and a triggering member disposed within said housing for pivotal movement, said triggering member having a first end for engaging said impact-hammer and a second end, said triggering member defining a mounting slot, extending between said first end and said second end of said triggering member and being disposed intermediate said ends, said triggering member being pivotally mounted at said slot upon said pin, means biasing said triggering member such that said pin is initially disposed at the second end extremity of said slot, said propelling means further including a pull cord coupled to said second end, said triggering member having a configuration such that pull on said pull cord will cause the trigger member to pivot into engagement with said impact-hammer and move the latter rearwardly to compress said drive spring, and such that further pull on said pull cord will cause the triggering member to move along said slot to the first end extremity thereof, thus disengaging said first end thereof from said impact-hammer.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein the triggering member has an initial position prior to pull of said pull cord such that said first end of said triggering member is adjacent said impact-hammer and wherein said biasing means includes spring means mounted in said housing and coupled to the triggering member to return the triggering member to said initial position after being displaced therefrom. 

1. Competitive racing game apparatus comprising: a board having means defining a plurality of upwardly inclined tracks therealong, said tracks having lower starting ends and higher finishing ends; a plurality of racing pieces each disposed for movement along one of said tracks; a plurality of rollable impacting objects for engaging the racing pieces; and a plurality of individual propelling means on said board adjacent the lower starting Ends of said tracks for selective and independent operation to propel the impacting objects up along the inclined tracks to impact the racing pieces and thereby advance them along the tracks, said propelling means comprising a housing, the housing including an impact-hammer movably mounted in said housing for forward and rearward motion, a drive spring mounted in said housing urging said hammer in a forward direction, a pin mounted between the walls of the housing transversely to said direction of motion of said hammer, and a triggering member disposed within said housing for pivotal movement, said triggering member having a first end for engaging said impact-hammer and a second end, said triggering member defining a mounting slot, extending between said first end and said second end of said triggering member and being disposed intermediate said ends, said triggering member being pivotally mounted at said slot upon said pin, means biasing said triggering member such that said pin is initially disposed at the second end extremity of said slot, said propelling means further including a pull cord coupled to said second end, said triggering member having a configuration such that pull on said pull cord will cause the trigger member to pivot into engagement with said impact-hammer and move the latter rearwardly to compress said drive spring, and such that further pull on said pull cord will cause the triggering member to move along said slot to the first end extremity thereof, thus disengaging said first end thereof from said impacthammer.
 2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein the triggering member has an initial position prior to pull of said pull cord such that said first end of said triggering member is adjacent said impact-hammer and wherein said biasing means includes spring means mounted in said housing and coupled to the triggering member to return the triggering member to said initial position after being displaced therefrom. 